CPJMA Celebrates Groundbreaking – San Diego Unified School District

news release

May 12, 2023

San Diego – One of the oldest schools in the Pacific Beach area has been extensively renovated.

A community staple for 75 years, the Crown Point Junior Music Academy (CPJMA) broke ground on Friday for a site-wide modernization.

Students from Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) through 5th grade Magnet School join superintendent Dr. Lamont Jackson, district leaders, and the family of the late Stephen Lux, founder of the school’s violin academy, in a music center and classroom. Joined in to celebrate the construction. Facility.

“Stephen Lux’s dream of involving students and parents in music and learning has played an important role in CPJMA’s future music center,” said Dr. Jackson. “We are so grateful that the renovation of the dilapidated building will take place thanks to the influence of our beloved teachers who cared so much about the music and the school community.”

The project includes building a new kindergarten facility, a music center and makerspace, classroom renovations, a safe and secure main campus entrance, and outdoor improvements.

Replacing the aging portable, the new kindergarten building on Fortuna Street will include state-of-the-art classrooms with the latest technology, furnishings and co-working spaces.

The Student Services Office will relocate from Ingraham Street to Pacific Beach Drive to create a secure main campus entrance. The vacant Ingraham Street building will be transformed into a music center and makerspace that includes new music facilities and practice rooms. New cameras, emergency communication systems and perimeter fencing will also be installed at CPJMA to further improve safety.

The project included a learning area near the music and makerspace, three new play structures and shade shelters in the kindergarten area, new play structures and shade shelters in the senior playground, and striping of hardscapes. , the parking lot was expanded and a dedicated student drop-off and drop-off area was created along Jewel Street.

“Outdoor facilities play as important a role in team building and collaboration as indoor learning environments,” said Dr. Cody Petterson, Board Member of the San Diego Unified School Board. “We are thrilled to offer an outdoor workspace and a new playground for CPJMA students to grow and grow.”

Modernization work across the CPJMA site is expected to be completed by the summer of 2025.

CPJMA became a music academy in 2008 after Teacher Stephen Lux introduced the Suzuki Violin Program to the school then known as Crown Point Elementary School. Mr. Lux taught both students and parents how to play the violin together, perform together, and make them aware of the importance of parental involvement.

In addition to the Suzuki Violin Program, CPJMA also offers free after-school music clubs and music enhancement instruction in homeroom classes. Attended by Year 4 and her Year 5 students, this music club is taught by professional musicians and focuses on instrument playing skills, song performance and composition, and audio and video recording.

Media inquiries:
Jamie Ries, Information Services Specialist, San Diego Unified [email protected]

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